On the Other Side of the Bridge
by TwelveTurquoise12
Summary: As Marinette and Adrien sat down on the stairs, eating ice cream, little did they know about their soulmate on the other side of the bridge. Spoilers for Episode 9, Glaciator, of Season 2. Oneshot. Adrienette centric.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

André grinned as he handed Marinette an ice cream cone and he winked at the girl. Marinette gave a sheepish grin, knowing that wink meant the ice cream vendor supported her in her love life. André's eyes followed the blue haired girl as she walked towards the left of the bridge.

He genuinely wished Marinette would find a suitable partner soon. He had witnessed many declarations of love, confessions, and even marriage proposals, all by his humble ice cream shop. André's happiness stemmed from seeing the joyful faces of couples in love. Nothing made him happier.

He turned to his next customer with a jovial smile. It was a young blond male, around the same age as Marinette. André thought the youthful face was rather familiar, and with a jolt, he realized he was the teen model Adrien Agreste, and he had seen his face plastered all over posters across Paris. Nevertheless, he treated Adrien the same and gave him his ice cream cone. André chuckled, amused, when he saw Adrien's eyes widen with delight as he took the ice cream. Again, André watched as the boy went to the right side of the bridge and walked down.

André looked to the left, where he knew Marinette had went. And then he looked to the right, where Adrien's golden mop of hair had just vanished from view. He suddenly had a feeling that the two teens paralleled each other, and that they felt like star-crossed lovers who were unable to meet each other, for one was on the right, one on the left.

Maybe, one day, they would meet in the middle.

* * *

"Hello!" Chat Noir used his baton to propel himself in front of André's stall, mischief twinkling in his green eyes.

"Ah, good evening, Chat Noir," André greeted the superhero politely. "Need a sugar fix?" he asked cheekily.

Chat Noir sighed. "Ah, yes please. I'm craving an ice cream." He leaned casually against his baton, peering intently at the photos of grinning couples that lined the tiny ice cream shop.

Briskly, André whipped up a three-scoop ice cream and handed it to Chat. His cat ears perked up when his leather-clad fingers came in contact with the cone. "Thanks, Mister!"

André thought that Chat's ecstatic reaction when he ate his ice cream vaguely reminded him of another person, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hey," André whispered as he put a beefy arm on the counter and leaned towards Chat. "Ever thought of bringing Ladybug here and share an ice cream together? You'll get a discount." He not-so-secretly wanted the superhero duo of Paris to get together, and thought they were perfect as a couple.

Chat Noir gave a wry smile and then took another bite of his ice cream. "The thing is, Ladybug and I are just friends," he sighed, looking a bit downcast. "So we can't share an ice cream together, because that's," he shrugged, "romantic."

"Oh," André's face fell.

"But you don't have to worry," Chat immediately tried to assure the vendor. He gave a wistful smile and stared off into the sunset. "I'm already glad that I met her and became her friend."

"See you!" Chat gave a wave and leapt towards the left, ice cream cone in hand. His shaggy hair reflected the rays of the setting sun as he took long licks of his ice cream, seemingly enjoying it a lot.

* * *

"Ladybug! Welcome!" André said cheerfully as the spotted superhero walked in front of his shop.

"May I have an ice cream?" Ladybug requested, her hair ribbons blowing in the wind.

"Of course," André took the care to create a Chat-Noired themed ice cream for Ladybug. With a gallant smile, he reached out a hand, the cone grasped in his hand. "For you."

"Wow, thanks!" Ladybug took it gratefully, and handed André some coins. André insisted that the girl had to take the money back.

"An ice cream is a small price to pay for Paris' safety," André said. He shoved the coins back in the girl's hand.

Ladybug laughed. "Well, thanks again." She studied the scoops of ice cream, and her bluebell eyes lit up. "Wait, is this the one based after Chat Noir? With green and yellow scoops?"

"Yes!" André was delighted that Ladybug could recognize it.

"Wow! That's so sweet!" Ladybug praised the vendor.

"Thank you," André accepted her words graciously. "I like to customize my ice cream. It gives off a more… personal touch."

Ladybug looked down at her ice cream cone. "Chat would be excited to find out he has an ice cream based after him."

"Ohh," André rubbed his hands. " _Oh_ , he might actually know about that!"

"He came here before?" Ladybug asked with interest before she took a huge bite of her ice cream. "Mmm, it's delicious."

"Yup. He seems to love ice cream. Maybe you two can go together…" André trailed off suggestively, heavily implying that he wanted the superhero duo to eat ice cream together.

Ladybug chuckled, knowing full well what he meant. Chat was her good- no, _best_ friend, but sadly, he couldn't be more than that, because her heart belonged to Adrien. Perfect, generous, kind Adrien. If only she had the courage to ask him out to a date to the ice cream shop like in her fantasies…

"Maybe one day," she laughed it off.

"One day," André echoed. "I'll be waiting!" he gave a broad smile, teasing Ladybug.

After the girl had finished her ice cream, she said bye to André and walked off the bridge using the right side. André blinked; he seemed to have a sudden vision of Chat Noir and Marinette walking towards the left, and Adrien and Ladybug towards the right. And a second later, it as gone.

 _My eyes are just playing tricks on me,_ he told himself. _The sun's glare is really too strong._

But then, if his hallucination was real, could they ever stop walking towards the opposite sides of the bridge?

* * *

Through Marinette's friend, Alya, André learned that Marinette indeed had a crush on Adrien. The ice cream vendor thought the two sweet teens looked great together, so he, Alya, and Adrien's friend Nino came up with a plan to hook the two up.

Firstly, Alya and Nino would ask Marinette and Adrien respectively to go to get some ice cream, and then excuse themselves, so Marinette and Adrien had to make their way to the ice cream shop themselves, and therefore enjoy some alone time together! The pair of scheming friends instructed André to give the couple only one ice cream, if possible.

However, André knew what happened the last time he gave Marinette an ice cream meant for two people, and he respected her, so he decided to give them two ice creams when they came.

The vendor thought it was interesting that Marinette walked up the bridge on the left side, and Adrien from the right. When their eyes met, Adrien waved, his usual suave smile on his face. Marinette waved back, although her movements were considerably stiffer than Adrien's. André also noticed a blush dotting her freckled cheeks.

They arrived at the middle of the bridge, or André's shop, at around the same time. Marinette coughed awkwardly; she knew it was Alya's plan to matchmake Adrien with her (again). Adrien however, seemed oblivious, and instead was looking attentively at the variety of ice cream flavours.

"Hey Marinette, what do you want to get?"

Both André and Marinette's heart skipped a beat, and had the exact same thought in unison. _Was he planning to share ice cream after all?_

Adrien turned back to the vendor. "I would like chocolate and mint," he said, and instantly, André could see Marinette's dreams shatter right before her eyes, but she recovered quickly.

"I… umm, would like strawberry and vanilla!" Marinette stuttered for a bit, but even managed to give Adrien a slight smile.

"Right-ho! Two ice creams coming up!" André continued to say as brightly as ever, as he scooped the ice cream up.

As André worked, Marinette kept nervously sending looks at the colourful photos of couples that lined the ice cream cart. Adrien followed Marinette's gaze towards the photos, and sighed internally. He had once hoped that he and Ladybug would be one of those merry couples, laughing as they took bites out of the same ice cream, dabbing at the ice cream that got stuck on the other's face. But alas, they were only friends. And Adrien didn't want to force a relationship with Ladybug.

He knew he should get over her. After all, it would do no good for him to wallow in his heartbreak forever. Speaking of that, Adrien also noted that the girl besides him was rather cute too. Marinette could cheer anyone up with her sweet smile. She was also one of the nicest people he had known, plus she made some damn good pastries.

"Here," André cut through Adrien's thoughts and handed him his cone. "Thanks," Adrien replied, and using his other hand, he rummaged through his pocket for coins. "I'll pay for you too," he winked at Marinette, who immediately flushed. "My treat."

Marinette was lost in one of her sharing-ice-cream-with-Adrien fantasies. She knew she had no chance with him, because he was totally out of his league. However, as much as Marinette tried to deny it, Chat Noir was possible as a love interest. She knew that he was head over heels in love with Ladybug, and Marinette was Ladybug. Besides, in her civilian self, she also shared an amicable relationship with Chat. The main problem was that whether Chat would love that clumsy, bumbling side of her, the real Marinette.

André resisted the urge to say that they would make a cute couple. He quietly did Marinette's cone, and gave it to her.

How André wished they would share a cone! How he wanted them to get together! True, they had finally met in the middle of the bridge, but still not close enough.

After they had finished their ice cream, they parted ways, Marinette going towards the right, and Adrien to the left. André sighed, it seemed like they were going in the wrong direction all right.

* * *

André served many more customers in the following years. From Adrien and Marinette to Alya and Nino. Unfortunately, Ladybug and Chat Noir never showed up at his place at the same time, which, André privately thought, was a shame. After that slightly awkward first time, Adrien and Marinette too never ate ice cream with just the two of them.

Until a warm, cloudless summer day. The sun beat its glaring rays down at the people underneath. It seemed like the perfect time to have ice cream, so André was pleased that he sold much more ice cream than usual. His business boomed by the hour, and despite working for quite some time in the heat, André didn't mind.

"Ah! Marinette and Adrien!" André called to a particular couple consisting of a bluehead and a blond, which caught his eye. When they heard him, they spun around and waved. André was surprised yet delighted to find that the two were holding hands.

André could hardly breathe as the youngsters made their way towards his shop, teasing and flirting with each other the whole time. It was certainly a beautiful sight.

"So," André gave a grin. "I suppose only once ice cream cone can suffice this time!"

"Oh no," Adrien pouted, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulder. "I have such a sweet tooth. Maybe we need two ice creams."

Marinette giggled and scratched Adrien's chin, as if he was a cat. André smiled blissfully at their interaction. _Ah, young love._ "Chaton, you've eaten most of the cookies I baked last time," she teased. "You probably need a diet." Then she turned to André. "One ice cream, please."

"My pleasure, Miss Marinette," André replied, his eyes lighting up as he searched his mind for the perfect ice cream recipe meaning a steady relationship. After years and years of eating ice cream alone, entering and leaving the bridge on opposite sides, they finally found a partner in each other in the middle of the bridge.

"Hey, would you mind if I take of photo of the sweet couple?" André asked, his favourite camera in his hand. He winked at them. "I like to decorate my cart with pictures of successful couples. It's how I attract customers."

"No problem," Marinette said, trying to pry Adrien's arm off her back. "Hey, Mister Model, get ready for your photoshoot!"

"Wait!" Adrien laughed, as he tried to flick away a bit of ice cream that landed on his cheek. "I'm not ready-"

 _Flash!_ André had already taken a photo, of Adrien making a hilarious expression as he tried to fix his face, and Marinette holding her stomach, doubled over in laughter.

"Perfect," André examined the photo. He could feel the pure joy radiate from it. "This makes an excellent addition to my collection."

"B-but I wasn't ready!" Adrien protested, as Marinette dug her spoon in the ice cream.

"But, it won't be fun if you show off an unnatural smile and pose," André said as he showed the photo to the couple, to Adrien's embarrassment. "Authenticity is important."

As he watched the two joke and laugh, he felt a smile come to his face.

 _Finally, they meet in the middle of the bridge._

* * *

 **A/N: I dunno… this is my first Miraculous Ladybug fic. And I immediately started writing this after I finished watching Glaciator.**

 **Please comment/ review! I would like to know how I did! Thanks for reading! :)**


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